Prof. Dr. Y. Karunadasa | International Buddhist College

Early Buddhism, Therāvāda Buddhism

Prof. Dr. Y. Karunadasa studied Pāli and Buddhist Philosophy. He obtained his Ph.D. in the field of Buddhist Studies (University of London, UK). In more than 50 years of his engagement in the field of Buddhist thought, he has held a broad range of positions. He was a lecturer at many universities and wrote countless articles and books. Currently, he is a visiting professor at the University of Hong Kong and the International Buddhist College.

Contact:

ykarunadasa(at)yahoo.com

Lectures

Master:

ST6206/ME6206 - Special topics in Buddhist studies I

Publications

Books:

1986. The Buddhist Analysis of Matter, (reprinted), The Buddhist Research Society, Singapore, pp. I-XVIII
1996. The Dhamma Theory: Philosophical Cornerstone of the Abhidhamma, Wheel Publications No. 412/413, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy.
1995. The Atthakatha Correspondence Table, in collaboration with Sodo Mori and T. Endo, Pali Text Society, London

Articles:

1958. ‘The Concept of Ultimate Reality in Early Buddhism’, Bharati, University of Ceylon Indological Society Magazine, pp. 14-18.
1964. ‘The Buddhist Theory of Moments’, Ceylon Law College Buddhist Journal, Vol. 5, Colombo, pp. 28-40.
1965. ‘The Atomic Theory of the Theravada School of Buddhism’, University of Ceylon Review, Vol. XXIII, Nos. 1 & 2, Colombo, pp. 35-66.
1972. ‘Bojjhanga’, Reference Article in Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, Vol. III, Fascicle 2, Colombo.
1972. ‘Bodhipakkhiya Dhamma’, Reference Article in Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, Vol. III, Fascicle 2, Colombo.
1975. ‘The Philosophical Basis of Early Buddhist Thought’, The Mahabodhi, Calcutta, pp. 349-355.
1981. ‘The Buddhist Doctrine of Anicca’, The Three Basic Facts of Existence (Collected Essays), Wheel Publications Nos. 186/187, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, pp. 45-56.
1983. ‘Vibhajyavada versus Sarvastivada: The Buddhist Controversy on Time’, Kalyani: The Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Kelaniya, Vol. 2, Colombo, pp. 1-28.
1984. ‘Summary Outline of Namarupapariccheda, a Medieval Compendium on the Theravada Abhidhamma’, sent in for publication in Encyclopaedia of Indian Philosophies, ed. Karl H. Potter, Washington.
1985. ‘The Buddhist Theory of Double Truth’, Kalyani: The Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Kelaniya, Vols. III & IV, Colombo, pp. 23-55.
1987. ‘Bauddha rupa vibhagaye acaratmaka ha darsanika padanama’, in Sinhala (The ethico-philosophical basis of the Buddhist analysis of matter), Vidyalankara: The Annual Publication of the Vidyalankara Pirivena, Kelaniya, pp. 16-28.
1987. ‘Anatta as Via Media’, Sri Lanka Journal of Buddhist Studies, Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka, Vol. I, Colombo, pp.1-10.
1987. ‘The Theravada Version of Dharmavada’, Annual Memoirs of the Otani University Shin Buddhist Comprehensive Research Institute, Vol. 5, Kyoto, Japan, pp. 43-92.
1987. ‘The Abhidhamma Theory of Pannatti’: The Category of the Nominal and the Conceptual’, Professor N.A. Jayawickrama Felicitation Volume, ed. D.J. Kalupahana and W.D. Weeraratne, Colombo, pp. 20-30.
1988. ‘The Buddhist Doctrine of Anicca and its Interpretation in the Abhidhamma’, Sri Saranankara Felicitation Volume, Sri Lanka-Nippon Educational and Cultural Centre, Etul Kotte, pp. 124-131.
1988. ‘Rupa sabdaye artha vicaraya’, in Sinhala (The import and implications of the term rupa), Prajnanjali: The Venerable Madihe Pannasiha Maha Nayaka Thera Felicitation Volume, Maharagama, pp. 33-47.
1989. Buddhist Studies in Sri Lanka’, News Bulletin of the Shin Buddhist Comprehensive Research Institute, Otani University, Kyoto, Japan, pp. 8-11.
1989. ‘The Buddhist Theory of Matter’, World of Buddhism: The International Buddhist Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 1, Colombo, pp. 3-9.
1989. ‘The Buddhist View of Material Existence as interpreted in the Theravada Tradition of Sri Lanka’, Buddhist Studies (Bukkyo Kenkyu), International Buddhist Association, Hamamatsu, Japan, Vol. XVIII, pp. 109-120.
1989. ‘The Growth of the Abhidharma’, World of Buddhism: The International Buddhist Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 2, Colombo, pp. 6-10.
1989. ‘Paticcasamuppada: The Buddhist Doctrine of Dependent Co-origination’, Sri Lanka Law College Buddhist Journal, Colombo, pp. 15-20.
1990. ‘The Universal Concomitants of Consciousness in the Abhidharma Psychology’, Buddhist Studies (Bukkyo Kenkyu), International Buddhist Association, Hamamatsu, Japan, Vol. IXX, pp. 191-216.
1990. ‘The Role of the Buddhist Monk in Buddhist Education and Higher Studies in Buddhism: A study of some problems with particular reference to Sri Lanka’, translated into Chinese by Ven. Jian Hua, Dharmaghosa (Voice of the Dharma), No. 6, Gen. No. 70, Beijing, China, pp. 30-40.
1990. ‘Buddhism’s Contribution to the Religious and Intellectual Thought of Mankind’, Ananda: The Ananda Guruge Felicitation Volume, Colombo, pp. 365-385.
1991. ‘The Buddhist Doctrine of Anatta’, Buddhist Thought and Ritual, ed. D.J. Kalupahana, New York, pp. 20-31.
1991. ‘The Buddhist Critique of Atmavada and the Buddhist Ideal of Nibbana’, Professor Mayeda Felicitation Volume, ed. Sodo Mori, University of Nagoa, Japan, pp. 20-31.
1991. ‘Abhidharmayehi antargata dharmavadaya’, in Sinhala (The Abhidharmic Theory of the Elements of Existence), Nivan Maga, Special Issue on Abhidharma Studies, Colombo, Sri Lanka, pp.26-40.
1993. ‘The Birth of Buddhism’, Vesak Sirisara: International Edition, Colombo, Sri Lanka, pp. 21-24.
1994. ‘Nibbanic Experience: A non-Transcendental Interpretation’, Sri Lanka Journal of Buddhist Studies, Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka, Vol. IV, pp. 54-88.
1994. ‘The Moral Life both as a Means and an End’, The Middle Way, Journal of the Buddhist Society, London, Vol. 69, No. 1, pp. 17-30.
1994. ‘The Buddhist Doctrine of Non-Self and the Problem of the Over-Self’, The Middle Way, Journal of the Buddhist Society, London, Vol. 69, No. 2, pp. 107-118.
1995. Foreword to The Chinese Version of the Dharmapada by Ven. Kuala Lumpur Dhammajoti, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
1995. ‘The Buddhist Teaching on the Moral Life’, Vesak Sirisara: International Edition, Colombo, Sri Lanka, pp. 1-10.
1995. Foreword to Polonnaru ha Dambadeni Katikavat (The Polonnaruva and Dambadeni Katikavats) by Ven. Y. Dhammavisuddhi, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
1995. ‘Abhidharmika dharmavadaye lankeya vardhanaya’, in Sinhala (The Development in Sri Lanka of the Abhidharma Dharma Theory), Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka, Colombo, Sri Lanka, pp. 54-88.
1997. ‘Dhamma Theory as the Abhidhamma View of Reality’, Beyond the Metaphysics of Common Sense: Buddhism, Science and the Realism Question, ed. Arjuna Zoysa et al, Colombo, Sri Lanka, pp. 1-14.
1997. Foreword to Immanuel Kantge Gnanavibhagaya: Bauddha Cintantanaya Esuren Kerena Adhyayanayak (Immanuel Kant’s Theory of Knowledge: A Study in the light of Buddhist Thought) by Kapila Abhayavansa, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
1998. Foreword to Entrance into the Supreme Doctrine (Skandhila’s Abhidharmavatara) by Ven. Kuala Lumpur Dhammajoti, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
1999. ‘The Third Buddhist Convocation: Historical Fact or Pious Fabrication?’, Journal of the Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, Vol. I, pp.106-128.
1999. Review of The Chinese Version of the Dharmapada by Ven. Kuala Lumpur Dhammajoti, Journal of the Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Vol. I, pp. 240-244.
1999. ‘Indriya vijneyya lokaya pilibanda abhidharmika vivaranaya’, in Sinhala (The Abhidharma View of Empirical Reality), Sambhasa: Journal of the Department of Pirivena Education, Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Colombo, Vol. X, pp. 38-55.
2003. ‘The Theravada Version of the Buddhist Theory of Momentariness’, Journal of the Centre for Buddhist Studies, Colombo, Sri Lanka, pp. 60-123.